


To Find A Safe Place

by wasureneba



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:11:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasureneba/pseuds/wasureneba
Summary: Remus is sure that he shouldn't be at Hogwarts.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Evening12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evening12/gifts).



> A gift from over at Hogwarts is Home on LJ; now posted here for safety's sake.

When Remus first arrives at Hogwarts, he is terrified. He keeps thinking _I shouldn't be here I shouldn't be here I'm dangerous I shouldn't be here._ He is also quite sure that he will be a Hufflepuff; all he's got going for him, he thinks, is that he works pretty hard. 

When the Sorting Hat places him in Gryffindor, and he sits down next to a dark-haired boy who is making rude gestures at an older girl over at the Slytherin table, he is flummoxed. He's not brave. He's not chivalrous. He's not got nerve. He's pretty sure that the hat put him in Gryffindor because he's not patient or just enough for Hufflepuff to take him in.

The next day, he gets two pieces of mail at breakfast. The first is a letter from his mother, telling him how proud she is of him for being in Gryffindor. The second is a note from Professor McGonagall. _Please meet me and Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing at 7p tonight_ , it reads. He knows what it is about.

He carries the letter from his mother in his pocket, like a talisman against fear; he wants to make them proud, so very much. In Transfiguration, he is so nervous that he nearly forgets everything that his mother has told him about wand movements and proper enunciation; somehow he manages to turn most of his match into a needle, although the silvery shank of the needle still produces a feeble fire when struck. When he walks down the corridor to the hospital wing later that night, his feet feel like lead, and his stomach is roiling like a pot of overcooked stew. 

"Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall greets him. Madam Pomfrey smiles broadly at him as she puts away a series of bottles; her face is like the sun, and Remus draws strength from it. "I'm sure you know why we've asked you to come up here."

Remus nods.

"Madam Pomfrey will be in charge of your care at the full moon while you are here. She'll tell you what will happen."

Madam Pomfrey takes over. "First, I want you to know that there will always be someone here who will be able to assist you at the full moon. If for some reason I am not here, either Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore will be here with you; if, Merlin forbid, there is a complete breakdown of all order and sanity, the heads of house are all aware of your condition, and you may go to any of them."

Madam Pomfrey continues explaining, every sentence brief but kind. He won't be penalized for missing class; they will pretend that he is visiting his sick mother; he will come up here the day before the full moon begins, to check in with Madam Pomfrey, and then when the full moon begins he will be up here again. If it's winter, he'll have an early dinner here. He doesn't bother telling them that he can't eat before a full moon, when the moon is pulling on him and making his stomach twist up into his heart, making him dizzy and light-headed and giddy.

"And now," Professor McGonagall says, "it's time for the field trip portion of our evening."

"F-field trip, professor?" Remus is confused. And then he realizes that the hospital wing is certainly not equipped to handle a werewolf, even a young one, and that if he were in here his howls would be heard throughout the castle. He feels himself drooping. He had liked the idea of being up in the hospital wing at the full moon, with someone to watch over him and to keep him safe. People worried so much about werewolves hurting other people, but everyone seemed to ignore the werewolves themselves.

Professor McGonagall walks them out, Madam Pomfrey following. "We have a special place for you to go at the full moon. It is a safe spot, a secure spot, and you will not be bothered there."

And he will not bother anyone there, either, is the unspoken utterance hiding behind Professor McGonagall's words. He feels like a wilted cabbage.

She steers them out of the castle, over the lawn, towards a gnarled, angry-looking tree. As they approach, it starts to move; its branches make heavy clubs.

" _Immobilus_ ," McGonagall says, wand thrust forward; the tree freezes. "You will come up to my office next Saturday for a private lesson on this charm. It's a little above first year level, but if your performance in Transfiguration earlier was indicative, you should be fine." She winks at him.

Remus is taken aback. He has not known Professor McGonagall for very long, but winking seems out of character for her. He is wary, and watches her carefully as she leads them to the base of the tree, and shows him a knob in the trunk that, when pressed, turns into a tunnel. They go down the tunnel, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey holding lit wands; Professor McGonagall says that she will teach him this spell, too, when he comes to her office. Finally, they reach the end of the tunnel. They are in a little shack with bolted, boarded windows and some simple, plain furniture.

"The Shrieking Shack," Professor McGonagall says. "On the outskirts of Hogsmeade. We've put around a rumor that it's severely haunted, and that there's a curse on the place. You'll be safe here."

This time, he knows that she means those words, and those words alone. He'll be safe here. He thinks of the stories of silver bullets and stakes, and they hit him in a way that they never have before. He'll be safe here. No one can kill him here. He swallows, hard, and straightens his shoulders. He's a Gryffindor, he should try to be a good one.

"Thank you, Professor," he says. She places a hand on his shoulders, and they walk back into the passageway.


End file.
